First Look: Rheem Hybrid Heat Pump Water Heater with EcoNet

A long, hot shower without the guilt.

As much as I never thought I’d write a post about a water heater, I bet you never expected to read a blog post about one… but, here we both are!

As it turns out, there have been some incredible advances in this arena over the past few years that are well worth talking about. Whether you’re building a new place (like us), or are looking for an upgrade, don’t go with a standard water heater before you check out the incredible new tech from the folks at Rheem.

Like many of you, we want to keep our energy usage as low as possible, especially since we’re moving into a larger home than we’re used to. We want to do our part to live a green-friendly lifestyle, but frankly, I’m more concerned with an electric bill that would keep my kids from going to college. With a little research, I was shocked to learn how much of an impact a good water heater can make.

Did you know that your water heater is the second-biggest user of electricity in your home? Depending on how much hot water you use, those showers and laundry cycles can make up nearly 20% of your monthly electric bill. That’s a significant cost from an appliance that runs constantly and is rarely researched by most home owners.

That’s where Rheem comes in with their cutting edge hybrid-electric water heaters with EcoNet. Their very clever new hybrid technology can pull ambient heat out of the air to keep your water hot, a method which reduces energy usage by a stunning 61% when compared with a standard water heater. That’s a savings of $4000+ over the life of the water heater, which translates to a lot of extra money in your pocket every month.

As if the energy savings aren’t enough, the Rheem units also feature their industry-leading EcoNet smart home technology that can integrate with other Rheem systems in your home, and most importantly, allow you to tweak settings and view diagnostics from your smart phone anywhere around the globe. When you go on vacation, doesn’t it make sense to turn down your water heater along with your thermostat? EcoNet makes this a breeze, and it even integrates with other smart home platforms like Wink.

It seems kind of ridiculous to write breathlessly about a water heater, but I get excited when I stumble across a product like this. I love it so much that I’m putting the 80-gallon version in our new place! Stay tuned for an in-depth review in the coming months.

In the meantime, if you need a water heater, you owe it to your electric bill to check out Rheem’s Prestige Hybrid Heat Pump. I think it could make a huge difference in your home.

Author

Eric Murrell

Eric is the creator of At Home in the Future and has been a passionate fan of the future since he was seven. He's a web developer by trade, and serves as the Director of Communication and Technology for a large church in Nashville, TN (where he and his family are building a high tech home in the woods).

1 comment

More and more smart devices will make our lives better. And mire than that, save us a ton of money. When people talk about smart home and home automation, many people just think in comfort and convenience, like operating windows shutters from our couches. What most people don’t realize is that a smart home will save us thousands of dollars per year. In fact even sophisticated smart home systems pay for themselves in no time.